Hard or Soft G

Last week I happened upon a newspaper article about techniques for teaching phonetics to children. I hadn’t planned to read the article until my name, in italics, caught my eye.  

The article focused on how “g” is pronounced when it is the first letter in a word. According to the writer, the “juh” sound for the letter “g” is most often used when it precedes e, i, or y. The example cited was Gentle Ginger goes to the gym.

I grew up with the mnemonic rule of thumb for ei and ie: I before e when it comes after c, but never learned Gentle Ginger goes to the gym. Believe me, I would have remembered that little ditty. The article went on to explain that a hard “g” is used when it precedes a, o and u.

I learned these “g” distinctions by ear, as one might say, by listening to reliable English speakers. Since this article was my first encounter with the mnemonic rule of thumb for “g”, I decided to see how reliable it was. I diligently walked my index finger through Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, the edition that weighs three pounds, and found many exceptions for soft “g;” whereas the rule for hard “g” was hard and fast. I excluded proper names when checking both rules.

A few, but not all, of the exceptions I found for “juh” being used before e, i, or y were gear, geek, gestalt, get, gewgaw, geyser, gibbon, giddy, giggle, gild, gimmick, girl, give, gynecologist.

My intention was not to criticize. I am delighted this rule is being taught to children because when gesture is pronounced with a hard "g" it is (for me) like fingernails on a chalkboard. The ge in gesture follows the “juh” rule.

Mnemonic devices are fun. The rule of thumb containing Ginger is fine. It's probably easy for young people to remember. I wish they would use  one I came up with, however, because it includes gesture. 

When my gesture made the giant gyrate, I gave him some gum.

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